Chapter 1: Early Years

This is the first page of my autobiography, for which I have now written about 31 pages. If there is interest, I will post further installments as time goes on.

Brainstorming about Poverty Relief in Rural Botswana

In this blog post, I present some ideas on poverty relief in rural Botswana. These ideas are the result of regular trips to Botswana since 1996.

Photos of Summer 2022 Cua Expedition

A few photos of our recent NSF funded expedition in Botswana to document Cua, a central Khoisan (Khoe-Kwadi) language. 

Essential Properties of a Descriptive Grammar

1. Accuracy

Are the words and sentences transcribed accurately?

Are generalizations stated in the grammar accurate? 

2. Clarity

Are the generalizations stated clearly and non-technically?

Are the descriptions and explanations clear and non-technical?

3. Readability

Is the grammar organized to maximize readability?

(examples, text, order of chapters, order of sections, etc.)

4. Combinatorial Richness

Does the grammar report on the existence of combinatorially possible forms?

5. Thematic Richness

Does the grammar cover constructions characteristic of the region?

Does the grammar cover constructions characteristic of the language family?

Does the grammar cover the usual categories of a descriptive grammar? 

Does the grammar miss important constructions?

6. Insightfulness

Does the discussion in the grammar represent a deep understanding of what is going on in the language? Or is it just a list of sections, each containing illustrative examples?

Summer 2022 Fieldwork by the Numbers

During June (last week) and July (the entire month) of 2022, we (Andrea, Olivia and I) did fieldwork on Cua, an endangered central Khoisan language spoken in southeastern Botswana. We did the fieldwork in Gaborone and Diphuduhudu.

The Two O’clock Blues

I usually divide my fieldwork day into two parts, morning and afternoon. In the morning, I work with one team, and then in the afternoon I check the work with another team. This set-up, when possible, gives me confidence in my results, and also allows me to get a feeling for variation, since the different teams will produce slightly different utterances.

Likes and Dislikes of Living in Rural Botswana

These likes and dislikes are based on my experiences living in Diphuduhudu (local language: Cua) and Mokgenene (local language: Sasi) in rural Botswana during my linguistic fieldwork. The locations I stayed at are called ‘settlements’, meaning that they were created as places where the ‘Basarwa’ (Khoisan population) could move to for access to amenities (e.g., school, clinic). I have no experience living in other kinds of rural villages in Botswana.

I am grateful to the people of these villages for their friendship and for supporting my research. Just to be clear, I love staying in the village and doing fieldwork. The likes and dislikes are presented in no particular order.